beets and grandpa

i wrote the other day about starting college and have already gotten some
great responses. thank you all so much!! i have two questions today. 1st: i
bought some beets at a local farmer's market, and the only thing i know of to
do with them is boil. my dad mentions recolections of his grandmother's
borscht, but has no clue of the recepie. so i was wondering if anyone knows
some good ways to prepare beets. also, can anything be done with the leaves?
ok, question number 2: my grandfather was recently diagnosed with severe
heart problems and was told by his dr. that he has to remove virtually all
sodium from his diet. his dr then proceeded to mention that while a st**k
might be an acceptable meal for him, things like asparagus and spinach simply
had too much salt. needless to say, i was aghast at this suggestion. eat
healthier by cutting out veggies and replacing them with dead cows?! if
anyone has some thoughts on why his dr would say this, or if anyone knows
some good low-sodium foods, please let me know. (my grandparents are avid
SAD eaters and spend most evenings at restaurants, so veggie recepies
probably wouldn't help. but if anyone can suggest easy ways to reduce
sodium, that would be great.) thanks again, i love this digest!!
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